document.write( "Question 1198429: A person's website specializes in the sale of rare or unusual vegetable seeds. He sells packets of sweet-pepper seeds for $2.48 each and packets of hot-pepper seeds for $4.88 each. He also offers a 16-packet mixed pepper assortment combining packets of both types of seeds at $3.53 per packet How many packets of each type of seed are in the assortment? \n" ); document.write( "

Algebra.Com's Answer #832024 by greenestamps(13200) $\"\"$ $\"About$

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\n" ); document.write( "The solution from the other tutor shows a standard algebraic solution method for 2-part \"mixture\" problems like this.

\n" ); document.write( "Here is an alternative which is often far less work, if the numbers in the problem are \"nice\".

\n" ); document.write( "Look at the three prices per packet -- $2.48, $3.53, and $4.88 (on a number line, if it helps) -- and observe/calculate that $3.53 is 105/240 = 7/16 of the way from $2.48 to $4.88.

\n" ); document.write( "That means 7/16 of the packets in the mixed assortment are the higher-priced hot pepper seeds.

\n" ); document.write( "Then, since the mixed assortment contain 16 packets of seeds, it contains 7 packets of the hot pepper seeds and 9 packets of the sweet pepper seeds.

\n" ); document.write( "ANSWER: 7 hot pepper packets, 9 sweet pepper

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